“Isn’t tomorrow your day off?” Beth asked.
“Yup.” He grinned and sauntered out.
The attraction between them was off the charts. It was a wonder they didn’t start a fire with all those sparks. That was how attraction should be. Beth’s face was glowing. She was smitten. Another bachelorette down in flames and Damien was just the man to fuel the fire.
“He seems nice,” she commented when Beth sat back down.
“He’s dreamy. Strong, handsome, smart. And those blue eyes are to die for. He’s totally delish.”
“You’re glowing. Your whole face lights up when you talk about him.” She grabbed Beth’s hand. “I’m so glad you found someone.”
Beth hugged herself. “It’s too early to tell, but I hope so. He comes in and we sit and talk. A lot. And you’ve found someone, too. Your whole body comes alive with animation when you talk about Jesse.”
“It does not.”It didn’t, did it?“We’re just co-workers.”
“Yeah, co-workers who watch the sunrise and eat all their meals together. Nothing going on, not at all,” she teased, half serious.
“There isn’t.” At least nothing beyond a couple of chaste kisses. “I do like him.”
“But you wish he wanted more out of life.” Beth hit the nail on the head.
Hailey groaned. “It’s so wrong. I shouldn’t care. He’s happy the way he is, except for the whole hating Christmas thing.” She couldn’t help but wish to see him cleaned up again, and out of the tattered clothing he wore. Yeah, they were work clothes, stained and a bit ragged, but he’d cleaned up really nicely and she wanted to see that again rather than his usual scruff. He wasn’t dirty, he always smelled like he’d just stepped out of the shower, but those clothes…
Shame filled her. You couldn’t judge a book by its cover and she shouldn’t judge a man by his clothing. She was a fashion snob. Why was her desire for his improvement more important than his contentment with who he was? She wasn’t proud of her feelings, but she didn’t know how to change them.
“Speak of the devil,” Beth declared, pointing to the street out front. A JP Construction truck pulled up and Jesse hopped out and strode inside.
“Morning, ladies.” He tipped an imaginary hat. “Beautiful day. Are you ready to get back to the renos? I’m ready as soon as I grab a coffee.”
“Jesse, did you get a job?” She pointed to the truck. “Don’t you have to work? Will your boss give you the day off when you’ve just started?” He barely had a job and he was going to risk it for her? That was crazy.
He glanced at the truck and shrugged. “Not a problem. The boss is pretty easy going, and he knows I’m working for you, too.”
“Oh, Jesse, don’t risk your new job for me.” He was entirely too casual about his employment.
“Don’t fret, Hailey. I’ve had this job for years.” He acted like it didn’t matter.
“And you let me think you were a bum.” What was wrong with him?
Beth leaped to her feet. “I’ll just get you a coffee.” She raced into the back room. Hailey swore she heard her friend laughing.
Something was up. She was getting tired of feeling like everyone around her was in on something; everybody except her. What was she missing?
She looked at Jesse, at the truck, and at the doorway Beth disappeared through. Beth’s repeated warnings not to judge Jesse before she got to know him rang through her head. She put two and two together and came up with a rat. It didn’t add up well for her.
“Oh, no.” She groaned.
“Oh, yeah.” He laughed, sliding into the chair beside her and patting her hand.
Heat suffused her face. She gulped her coffee and dropped the mug back onto the table with a thud.
“And you just let me think you were just an odd-job-Bob. Why did you do that? You could have corrected me, should have corrected me, anytime would have been good.” She wasn’t so much angry as disappointed in herself and Jesse.
“You could have asked me if I had a job instead of hinting I needed one.” He raised an eyebrow. “You took one look at me and assumed you knew me.”
“I let our mothers’ feud color what I saw and didn’t look beyond the surface. I am so, so sorry, Jesse. There is no excuse for the way I’ve treated you.” Her stomach rolled, like she’d swallowed a handful of marbles and they were knocking around in her stomach, clanking together and ricocheting around.
“Honestly, it amused me, and you never treated me poorly. Quite the contrary, you went out of your way to help me. You didn’t offer charity, instead, you offered a fair wage for a day’s work.”
